Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Delegate from Southtown Dave Evans forwards this AMNY article on New York City Restaurant Health Inspections and notes that Roosevelt Island restaurants come out pretty good on the Health Inspection ratings regarding major health violations. Mr. Evans writes:

While in attendance at a RIRA-Common Council Committee meeting, a colleague (I think it was Lynne) asked if I'd taken note of the NY Health Department's ratings posted in windows of some of our Roosevelt Island eateries. Well, I checked out an "am New York" article on 9 February and was duly impressed just as she was. Look, we are better than many others in NYC, with eight of ours having ZERO, NADA major violations right alongside restaurants found in Battery Park. OK, maybe there is aesthetic work to be done and this could happen with anticipated and hopefully forthcoming updates to Main Street businesses. So, in the meantime, perhaps we shouldn't knock our on-Island eateries too much, just occasionally give 'em some business.

Click on image above to enlarge and note on chart near bottom of page that restaurants in zip code 10044 (Roosevelt Island) had zero major health code violations. Major health code violations are defined as having 16 or more points as determined by the Health Department.

To date, four Roosevelt Island restaurant have received Restaurant Inspection letter grades of A from the Health Department. They are the two Subway Restaurants, the Trellis Diner and Starbucks. Nonnos, Riverwalk Bar & Grill, China One and Fuji East have not yet received a letter grade.

More on Roosevelt Island restaurant health inspections as well as an explanation as to how the restaurant letter grades are determined from this earlier post.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Delegate from Roosevelt Landings/Eastwood Joyce Mincheff reports that there will be a meeting for all of the Section 8 Tenants of Roosevelt Landings/Eastwood this evening, 7 PM at the Seniors Center (546 Main Street).

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) is seeking feedback from riders on the new Red Bus Route, Schedule and Tram Station Stops. RIRA has established this email address to receive your comments transportationfeedback@riraonline.com. You can also contact the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) directly with any thoughts you have on this subject, leave your comments on this post or do all three.

On another Red Bus matter, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Report for 2/4 - 2/5 appeared to describe an incident in which a Red Bus Driver abandoned passengers inside the Red Bus:

I have asked Public Safety Director Keith Guerra for more details as to what happened but have not received a reply yet. RIOC VP Of Operations Fernando Martinez has advised that he is looking into the matter.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

It looks like another attempt is being made to reverse the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) policy of removing children from strollers and then folding the strollers before boarding the Red Bus during rush hours. This issue was addressed back in 2007 with RIOC concluding:

The prohibition against open strollers during rush hours only has apparently pitted one set of riders against the other. Everyone should realize that this rule is SOP on the MTA. My mail from adult users without children is highly supportive of the ban. I empathize with the stroller set. Rush hours seemed a reasonable compromise.

What's with the desire to keep strollers unfolded during rush hours? I myself have three small children but I would never be so inconsiderate and bring a stroller into a crowded bus during rush hours. That thing has wheels and most likely came with a rain cover for bad weather. Walk it to the train/tram or home. No need to use up space on the bus and block the way.

How does the MTA handle strollers on New York City Buses? According to the MTA site explaining how to safely ride the bus:

When traveling with an infant and a baby stroller, the stroller should be folded before entering the bus and should remain folded for the duration of the trip.

Here's how Madison Wisconsin proposes to handle strollers on their buses.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Except for waste produced from commercial establishments and residential recyclables which are removed by garbage trucks, most of Roosevelt Island's garbage is taken away via the underground pneumatic tube system and collected at the AVAC (Automated Vacuum Assisted Collection) Facility.

If a NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) funded study is successful, then garbage trucks may be entirely banished from Roosevelt Island because the AVAC Facility will then be able to handle commercial waste and recyclables.

University Transportation Research Center at CUNY (New York) seeks to enhance Roosevelt Island’s pneumatic garbage transport system (basically a giant, underground vacuum cleaner) so that it can also accommodate recycling and the disposal of commercial waste. If successful, the project could virtually eliminate truck garbage hauling on Roosevelt Island. NYSERDA funding: $50,000

More on Roosevelt Island's underground garbage collection system from previous posts and a video that shows how the AVAC system works, is maintained, occasionally breaks down, gets fixed and the search for items mistakenly thrown away into the tubes.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

If you're a football fan, particularly of the Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers, today's the day you've been waiting for - Super Bowl Sunday! Being a Green Bay Packer fan, I can't wait for the game to start later today since I am expecting a victory and will be at Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Bar & Grill to cheer on the Green & Gold.

Cheesehead TV blog, the best place for all things Green Bay Packers, is reporting the rumor that coach Mike McCarthy will show this video to Packer players before the start of the game.

The Packers will go as far as Quarterback Aaron Rogers takes them today. Although I used to love Brett Favre, Aaron Rogers is now the man for the Packers.

Here's a really good song and video from 2009 that shows how the Packers fortune has changed with the emergence of Rogers as a premiere Quarterback. Back then, we just lost Favre, had no defense and thought the coaching staff did not reach the level of even being decent. But at least Aaron Rogers seemed alright.

WFUV's Cityscape radio program featured interviews with people who work high above New York City including a window washer, helicopter traffic reporter and our very own Roosevelt Island Tram Operator Greg Pavarati.

Mr. Pavarati has been operating the Tram for 35 years, starting even before the Tram opened in 1976. Greg says it a real nice job, loves the view and talking with Roosevelt Island residents. During the interview Greg talks about marriage proposals on the tram, no births but several woman going into labor, bathroom facilities on the Tram, celebrity sightings and that the chance of getting stuck on the new Tram is really zero.

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Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.